LiveAuctionTalk.com Highlights Jackie Robinson Changing Face of BaseballRosemary McKittrick is a storyteller. Her weekly column brings history and its artifacts to life. Visit the site. Sign up for a free weekly subscription.

News-Antique.com - Mar 14,2009 - Santa Fe, March 4, 2009 -- Jackie Robinson became the face of Civil Rights in big-league baseball on April 15, 1947 when he walked out to first base. He was the first. With him 60 years of baseball segregation ended.

Robinson carried the mantle of black history on his back the same way slaves carried bales of cotton on their backs.

He wasn’t just playing baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was out there for all the great black players who never got the chance. He was out there fielding for all the kids who hoped they would get a chance one day.

On April 15, 1997, at the 50-year anniversary of his debut, Major League Baseball retired Robinson’s number “42” jersey.

On Nov. 15 Hunt Auctions featured a selection of Robinson items in its Louisville Slugger Auction held in Louisville, KY. Here are some current values.

Personal Check Display; check written and signed by Robinson; matted and framed with his photo; 1958; $1,150.